I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the reuse of plastic bags, of the type which are currently provided by commercial stores to hold customer goods. Such bags generally have a top opening and two handles to allow the plastic bags (after being loaded at the store) to be grasped by the handles and transported by the customer. The present invention also has an integral lid which will provide the user a dustpan that is conveniently located and stored.
II. Description of the Prior Art
At one time, it was common in retail stores for customer goods to be bagged for transportation to the customer's home in paper sacks made of kraft paper. Once the goods had been transported home, the customer frequently utilized the stiff kraft paper bags as a trash can liner in a kitchen environment. These bags were so sized that they quite readily fit into an upright, rectangular trash can and provided the customer with a convenient way of disposing of household trash.
At a point in time, a standard type of plastic trash can liner was also made available to customers and was sized to fit a convenient range of can sizes. Normally, these liners were sized so that they were sufficiently tall to fit into the trash can and rest against the bottom of the can. They could then be adapted to be folded over the top of the can in order to support the limp side walls of the plastic liner.
In recent years, however, many commercial stores (especially grocery stores) have switched from paper bags for holding customer goods to a limp, plastic film bag which does not have side walls of such stiffness to allow the bags to be self-standing. These bags have grown in acceptance and many customers have attempted to utilize these bags in a kitchen trash can. They have been thwarted in their attempted use, however, because the typical trash can was not designed to hold the new type of plastic grocery bags without some sort of supporting structure. The typical plastic grocery bag has a pair of handles made integrally with the top of the bag for ease of carrying the bag from the store to the customer's home. The loops of the handles, however, are not adapted to fit any kind of typical trash can so as to hold the plastic trash bag in the trash can and maintain it in an open, upright stance to receive typical household trash.
A number of metal and plastic frame-type supporting structures have come into being which are designed to hold the new type of plastic grocery bags, but these have not gained popular acceptance by the customer. Typically, these frame supports tend to be awkward and unstable, they do not hold the bag well, and they tend to collapse and fall apart while in use. Other inventors have designed supporting hooks and members to be utilized with a typical trash can, but these require the customer to retrofit the supports to the trash can. These items also have not gained wide acceptance by the consumer.